In most areas of the United States, there will be a few weeks to a few months where your favorite mode of transportation may have to be kept in the garage. Even in the southern states where ice, snow and cold weather may not be an issue the rain can make riding a motorcycle on a regular basis a less than an appealing option.
If you are storing your motorcycle over the winter or even for a couple of weeks or months, there are some simple tips you can use to make it a lot easier on motorcycle batteries.
Discharge Issues
Even when not in use motorcycle batteries slowly discharge. This is really just a trickle, but with no charging that trickle can become a severely drained battery in a short period of time.
Newer bike with clocks and other electronic components tend to naturally cause a faster discharge even with a new battery. Additionally, all batteries will slowly discharge over time even without a specific item causing the drain.
There are specially designed solar powered or plug-in type of trickle chargers or battery tenders that can be used on the batteries over storage times. These are low-cost use. They will just add pennies to the energy bill and will ensure your battery is ready to go when you want to ride. The solar powered trickle chargers don’t require any electrical power which makes them a great option for storage, but there has to be direct sunlight for the charger to work.
Charging
If the battery has fully discharged over winter and the bike won’t start, charging the battery will be the first step. This can be done with a battery charger that plugs in and charges over few hours, or it can be done from another battery.
When charging motorcycle batteries, the best option is to use a good motorcycle battery. The two are connected with jumper cables with the positives connected and the good battery negative to a ground.
If the only option is to try charging the motorcycle battery with a vehicle battery, be very careful. Never run the vehicle and allow the battery with the cable to stay connected for a few minutes before trying to start.
Running the car or other vehicle will provide a sudden flood of power into the battery and through the system. This can result in significant damage throughout the bike’s electrical system which will result in components that will need to be completely replaced. To know more about Motorcycle Batteries visit Business Name. You can also follow them on Twitter.